Peninsula instructors prepare youth for the zombie apocalypse

If you knew a zombie virus was spreading rapidly, infecting 21 people for every infected person, what would you do? Panic? Run? But where?

"Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic," a graphic novella geared to teens and young adults prepared by the Centers for Disease Control, has the answers. "If you are generally well-equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse, you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake or terrorist attack," said CDC director of public health preparedness Dr. Ali Khan, who appears as a character in the comic book. The zombie comic started as a tongue-in-cheek campaign, but has evolved into a popular way to impress young people with the importance of emergency preparedness, he explains on the CDC web site.

"If it's about zombies, my boyfriend would like it," said Adrienne Heath, 20, of Yorktown, whose first gift to him was "The Zombie Survival Guide." "It's like a thing with him and his guy friends," she added, reeling off zombie-themed shows and movies, such as "The Walking Dead" and "Zombieland" as among his favorites.

Health departments throughout the region have picked up on the zombie subculture to target youth. John Cooke, director of the Western Tidewater Health Department, said the novella is a curiosity to adults but very effective with teens. "It seems so light and airy. You ask, 'Did they spend money on this?'" But, he marveled, "it does exactly what it's intended to do." He observed that his 13-year-old daughter and her friends pored over it and then asked where the family's emergency kit was. "They read it cover to cover. They're just infatuated with this whole zombie thing," he said.

At Hampton University, Professor Saundra Cherry used the Hampton Roads-customized novella for graduate students in her Crisis Intervention and Prevention class last year and plans to repeat it this fall. "They loved it. It was their favorite class," she said. To present the material she enlisted Dana Perry, manager of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT and the Peninsula Medical Reserve Corps operate under the umbrella of the Hampton Roads Regional Citizen Corp to train community volunteers in first-responder skills.

Perry taught the counseling students that personal safety comes first and that if you're trained you're more efficient in helping others. "They loved it; it enlightened and enhanced their desire to learn. They were more engaged because of the method," said Cherry.

In her presentations, Perry, who often dresses in character as one of the living dead, balances education with entertainment. "When you're a good instructor, you have to find that balance or the message is lost," she said. Until this summer, she was printing off parts of the 34-page booklet, whose back page lists the supplies necessary for an "All-Hazards Emergency Kit." Now, thanks to a grant, she has hundreds of originals to distribute.

"It's something we've complained about for a while — there's literature for children, for seniors — but nothing for teens and young adults," Perry said. The reviews have been wonderful. Students have asked if they could dress up too and use more props, she added. Perry received the literature in July and almost immediately she received an inquiry from a teen who saw it at the public health department. The teen and more than a dozen others signed up for a class, with one continuing through the full 20-plus hours CERT training. An evaluation from one in the group read, "The only negative was I wish it had been longer. I wanted more."

The story starts with Todd and Julie watching a horror movie. Already spooked, their fears are compounded when the TV news announces an unidentified virus is sending people to the hospital in numbers. Sprinkled into the dialog are references to essential emergency supplies — food for people and pets, medications, water, a hand-cranked radio, documents, cash and clothes — and safety tips, including where to get information. There's a neighbor acting strangely and an army of blood-streaked ghouls roaming the deserted streets.

Cut to Part 2 of "Zombie Pandemic" and CDC scientists are scrambling to identify the virus and come up with a vaccine. It will be a week before they can deliver it to the affected states. Meanwhile Todd and Julie are making a run for the nearest shelter in their car which is dangerously low on gas. Then, at the shelter, there's a zombie attack and … to be continued.

"The zombie component is brand new to me," said Tammy Waldroup, emergency management coordinator for Christopher Newport University, which is hosting a ghoulish October 31 preparedness event to coincide with Halloween and seasonal flu shots. Students will rotate through four stations learning about disaster preparedness, how to administer hands-only CPR, fire safety training and terrorism active shooter.

The event is being offered in collaboration with the Department of Health and the city of Newport News. Teresa Blakeslee of the Peninsula Medical Reserve Corps worked up a flyer for it depicting the undead. Their grant allows them to hand out the novella and a backpack with readiness supplies to participating students. Blakeslee expects to hand out 300 bags during the event. "Students have to go through the training to get them. I don't believe in just giving things out. Preparedness is a very important function," she said.

Just as Todd and Julie learned in the face of a zombie pandemic. The end?

CERT is part of a national program created after 9/11 and funded by the Department of Homeland Security to train citizens in first-responder skills to mitigate crises before professionals arrive and to provide supplementary help.